The Pluto Knights of Alexandria
by KingKylus
Summary: Not much is dicussed about the Pluto Knights, in the game they are represented as a lazy bunch of old men but I have alot more respect for the valiant warriors. See introduction for more information.
1. Introduction

**Introduction for 'The Pluto Knights of ** **Alexandria****' **

The main reason I wanted to create a story around the Knights is simply due to their representation in the game. They are portrayed as lazy, cowardly and rubbish by most of the characters but if you check some statues and monuments in Alexandria theirs some evidence that they were once great. This story follows one main Knight by the name of Kalfus, when he was only twelve years old Kuja and Garland attacked the city, murdering his family and leaving him an orphan. Six years later Kalfus has become a Pluto Knight a sworn never again to let anyone harm his beloved Kingdom.

Join us and follow Kalfus as he fights for the weak, conquerors the strong and restores hope while battling his own demons and secretly seeking revenge.


	2. The Evil Forest

**Disclaimer. **

Some characters and places belong respectively to Square-Enix, all other characters and new locations and events belong to me.

**CHAPTER ONE - THE EVIL FOREST**

Three Pluto Knights were carefully navigating the Evil Forest; they had their swords drawn and were looking around for any sign of threat. The forest was dark and cold; many horrific sounds could be heard in the distance. No doubt the inhabitants were the source of this.

The knights were dressed with a silver chest plate and silver chain mail, silver boots and silver helmets. One of the Knights called out to the others.

"Lionel, Kalfus! Can you see anything? This horrid fog blinds me!" Shouted Ricko over the forest noise.

"Nay, it's just trees and bushes!" replied Lionel

"We are wasting our time Sir. The beasts do not dwell near the river; the location is more likely near the mountains." Added Kalfus.

Ricko looked at Kalfus, intrigued.

"Where did you get that solution from?" Ricko replied.

"The Grakal are intelligent. They know predators would come near this river and obviously wouldn't want to be found. They would want to setup a nest far off, in an easily defending location. They also speak and understand fluent Gaian." Kalfus stated.

Gaian was the language spoken by the inhabitants of the mist continent. Talking of these beasts, a scout was following the Knights and listening to everything they said. He was hiding in a bush, these beasts are so used to the forest they can navigate around it with ease and make almost no sound.

But again, unknown to the beast Kalfus had picked up his presence and was thinking of a way to use the beast to find the nest.

"Well Kalfus, any ideas were their nest may be located?" added Lionel with a sarcastic tone.

"Not yet my friend, not yet." Kalfus replied.

The beast moved closer to get a better view of the Knights; he stepped over a branch and quietly climbed a tall oak tree.

"I hate this forest, everywhere you go something's trying to eat you. Damn Erols." stated Lionel

An Erol was a small insect creature, the size of a fly. It would land on its prey and bite off small bits of flesh. The bite would release venom that would start slow process of paralysis; luckily any knowledgeable solider would carry the antidote with them.

"Ricko, see that abnormal tree over there..." said Kalfus, raising his sword and pointing out the tree.

"Yeah..." replied Ricko.

"Can you climb it and find out where we are?" Kalfus asked.

"Umm, shouldn't be a problem. Lionel, still got that rope?"

"Yes, here" Lionel chucked the rope to Ricko.

Ricko walked over to the tree, stepping over branches and logs. He setup a lasso and launched the rope up but missed, he tried again and missed. After several attempts he fixed the rope to an arrow and fired the arrow softly over a branch. Taking the arrow off the rope he tied it down to a strong root and tied the other end of the rope to a near by tree trunk.

"Why have you gotta be so complicated, why do you even need the rope. Can't you just claim the branches?" Added Lionel

"I was going for the dramatic effect." Ricko smiled.

Ricko started to claim up the rope; Lionel was peering through the dark trees looking for any sign of danger while Kalfus listened carefully to the creatures movements.

Ricko finally reached the top and shouted down

"Hey! I can't see much, it's too dark!" shouted Ricko

"Look for a space with no trees, like a meadow." Replied Lionel

Kalfus kneeled down and fiddled with something on the ground.

"No, I can't see jack swot!" Ricko informed as he began to climb down. Ricko jumped onto the ground with a thud.

"Lets just keep heading north then," instructed Lionel.

As the soldiers moved on through the woods a high pitched scream came from behind them. Kalfus' face lit up with delight.

"Got it!" he said. Ricko and Lionel looked on in confusion.

"Got what?" Ricko said following Kalfus back to the source of the scream.

"One of the beasts was following us, I set a trap. Hopefully the beast can lead us to the nest." explained Kalfus

"Great!" Shouted Lionel

The soldiers quickened their pace and found this beast dangle from his ankles.

"Get me down!!" Screeched the beast.

Lionel punched the beast in the face with, the beast screamed with pain, blood dripping down its face. Lionel sheathed his sword and pulled out a bottle from his side pack.

"Do you know what this is? Its a potion which creates fire and I wont hesitate to burn you back to hell." said Lionel fearlessly.

The beast face lit up with fear.

"What do you want..." pleaded the beast.

"A young by was taken by your kind from the Alexandrian plains, we want him back! You take us too your nest and we will let you live!" Kalfus said while holding his blade to the beast's neck. Grakal's were extremely selfish; they don't care about anyone but themselves.

"Fine, let me down. I'll take you..." replied the beast.

Ricko tied the creature's hands together and tied a leash around its neck, the beast wasn't fond of this idea.

"Just in case you decided to run." smiled Ricko.

The beast led the way through the forest, the further they went through, the dark and quieter the forest become. It came to the point when there wasn't the sound of a creature anywhere, only the sound of the wind and snapped branches. Kalfus signalled for the party to crouch low as he noticed a camp fire up ahead.

"Is that the nest?" asked Kalfus

"No, it's just a guard." answered the beast.

"Stay here with him." ordered Lionel, he sheathed his sword and crept up to the camp, hiding behind a bush he watched two of the beasts feasting on an animal. They ate veraciously, Lionel readied his bow, pulling two arrows out of his quiver, he fixed one to the string and pulled it back. He released the first striking one of the beasts in  
the chest. He quickly fired the second and hit the other beast. Lionel unsheathed his sword and charged at the beasts, thrusting one through the chest and then placed the sword to the second's throat. The beast wheezed with blood dripping from its mouth.

"Where's the camp!" demanded Lionel

"Arghh.. I'm dead anyway..." laughed the beast. Lionel thrust his sword through the beast.

The knights hid the bodies of the dead beasts and forced their captured companion to continue the lead. Passing this sentry post they entered an even darker and much quieter side of the forest. The brown muddy earth was starting to be replaced by grey rock; the men knew they were getting near the cliff face. Suddenly a dirty, ragged arrow missed Lionel and hit a near by tree, the knights charged forward, Ricko using the beast as a shield. Kalfus made contact with a squad, slashing two at once then thrusting his sword through the third. He forced his sword into the earth, pulled down his bow and fired arrows at the oncoming beasts, killing several. Ricko was making sport of these beasts, often using the captive as a shield. He threw the captive forward to knock two others back, he swaged his sword from above slashing one dead and then swinging horizontally, decapitated another. Lionel withdrew his shot sword and swiftly worked his way through several beasts. The knights fought their way into a cave with more beasts coming for the slaughter.

These clumsy beasts were no match for experienced warriors. Fighting their way further down the tunnel the knights had found what they were looking for, three young children were bound and gagged by dirty ragged ropes. They were all unconscious. Lionel took a some phoenix downs out of his patch and poured one down each of their mouths. The children jumped awake, terrified. When the saw the knights their fear faded, Lionel unbound them and removed the gags.

"Hey mister, are you a Pluto knight?" said the oldest boy.

"Yes I am, don't worry Frenick, we are here to take you home." reassured Lionel

"How do you know my name?" Asked Frenick.

Lionel removed his helmet "It's me, Uncle Lionel."

The boy jumped into Lionel's arms, a tear of relief dripped down Lionel's face.

"Toraya..." Kalfus addressed the girl. "Hanaagan..." he addressed the second boy."Can you walk okay?"

"Y-y-yes." replied Hanaagan

"My leg hurts..." cried Toraya.

Kalfus helped her stand, she began to limp. Her leg wasn't broken but badly bruised. The girl was only seven and very little.

"Okay, you can ride on my back." added Kalfus.

The group left the cave and headed home.


	3. The Small Farming Village of Slum

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the world of Gaia, but these characters and events i do.**

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**Thanks for the previous reviews, I hope this chapter is better for you.**

**Chapter 2 - The Small Farming Village of Slum**

The journey back was extremely difficult, taking care not to create any unwanted attention the men had to slowly navigate their way out of the forest. Following the river was the safest option as it lowered their chance of getting lost, however Kalfus was a little concerned with the movement from the other side. They continued along the river until finally a beam of sun light issued through the leaves, the children gave out a shout of joy but the men remained quiet, they knew safety had not yet been achieved. Ricko walked up front, sword at the ready, to check the finally part was okay. He walked fast along the muddy path; a natural door way of branches led the way out of the forest. Ricko signalled the others and they hastily followed.

"Ahh fresh air and sunlight at last!" said Ricko

The others came out through the natural door, they walked further away from forest until they came to a selection of rocks. Kalfus let Hanaagan down and he sat upon one of the rocks, Kalfus checked the boy's leg to find nothing but a bruise.

"Here." said Kalfus as he pulled out a bottle and handed it to the boy.

"This will help heal your leg."

Hanaagan drunk some of the potion and passed it back.

"Thank you." he said.

"Its going to be dark in a few hours, we're not going make it back before then and it won't be wise to travel by dark with the young ones." stated Ricko. "I believe there is a small farming colony not far from here. I purpose that as our next destination."

"Okay, it seems wise. Where is this place?" Lionel asked.

"It's situated on the river, so if we follow it we should arrive their before it gets dark." said Ricko.

"Okay, shall we leave now? The shadow of the forest disturbs me." added Kalfus

"Are you okay to go?" Ricko asked the children.

They all replied, the group set off down towards the river.

After a few hours the group finally arrived at the village, it was surround by a seven foot stone wall which spread for miles. The wall had watch towers situated every few metres which were each armed by a squad of archers. Even though the mist had gone the horrid beasts which spawned from it were still around so these defences were necessary. Stationed at the gate were two Alexandrian soldiers, the tallest had jet black hair while the shorter one had golden hair.

"Greetings" said the shorter one. "What brings you to the village of Slum?"

"Hello, we need a place to stay for the night. We have the abducted children with us so the most comfortable quarters would be ideal." said Ricko

"Oh my, why of course sir. Come in," she said as the second soldier waved to the gatekeeper. "just wait around the square and I will get my commander to arrange something."

The shorter guard led the group into village, if you could call it that. There were around six farms in all, each having around three fields each. A road led from the gate right into the centre where the real village was located, a number of houses, a church and town hall populated the centre while a number of barns were randomly situated around the fields. In the centre of the village was a statue of Captain Steiner, he was wearing his traditional armour and held his sword in a battle pose. Kalfus was a great admirer of Sir Steiner, the stories of how he defend Alexandria and how helped save the world. Kalfus didn't believe all the stories though; he couldn't imagine how one man could save the world. Kalfus walked closer to the statue, on a plague beneath his feet it read:

'_Duty is only a word, for a man to proof his loyalty his must follow his Queen to another world, without a seconds hesitation.'_

"Why Sir Ricko, I haven't seen you since the Queens twentieth birthday!" said a middle aged, brown haired women.

"Captain Winfield, it has been to long." said Ricko; he raised his right hand to salute.

"What brings you to the village of Slum, why here are the missing children! Good too see your safe." she said to them

The children remained silent, maybe because Rowena Winfield looked extremely unpleasant due to the number of battle scars across her face but overall she was a kind hearted woman.

"Well then, I've arranged some rooms in my manor, please follow me." said Winfield as she led them towards a three story house. The house had a hint of Alexandrian decor blended with the likes of Dali architecture, in entrance hall was extremely big and had a number of old armour pieces, along with the occasional painting and lush furniture. From the entrance hall they were led into a dining room, the table was just being cleared away.

"We have just finished dinner, if you hungry please see one of the chef's. I'll leave you here for now as I have some business with the guard." Winfield said as she left the dining room.

"Whoa, I'm starved!" said an enthusiastic Lionel.

"You hungry?" Kalfus asked the children, they all nodded in reply.

"Great!" said Lionel as he walked off towards the kitchen.

"Sir…" said Kalfus, Ricko followed him into the corner. "What are they farming here, there are no cattle? And why is there such a big military presence?

"Crops, I don't know Kalfus. These things are best kept unknown." Said Ricko

"They weren't so pleased to see us arrive either." added Kalfus

"Don't worry about it, first light we'll leave for the city, get some grub and some sleep. You deserved it." said Ricko

After a huge supper the children were shown to bed and the three knights, Captain Winfield and a group of her officers stayed around the table discussing recent events.

"… and they're saying the monsters on the Outer Continent are more fierce and savage, god knows why we would want to colonise such a land." said Ellyn, a young women with red hair.

"Apparently there are rich resources out there; besides, the other nations have started to colonise it. Why should we fall behind?" added Jena, Winfield's second in command.

"Politics is best suited for those who are appointed to discuss it, we are soldiers and soldiers are paid to fight, not to think." said Winfield

"What is it you actually do here?" asked Kalfus

"Well, we guard the farmers. They pay tax to the Kingdom, in return for their protection." said Winfield

"What is being farmed here, I didn't notice any crops or any cattle on the way in?" asked Kalfus

"Well…" Winfield hesitated

"We have cattle but they are kept in the barns during the evening…" Jena quickly stated.

"Oh, I see." said a not to convinced Kaflus

"Anyways, so have Burmecia landed on the continent yet? I knew Lindblum had already set up their as they have replaced their fleet with Steam powered airships" said Ricko, trying to block out the farming situation.

"Yes they have been settled near the Old Tree, there's noting there now. Just a desert of rock." said Ellyn

"Stupid rats, they have now business expanding." spat Jena

The room suddenly went silent, old veterans of the War still had hate towards the other nations, they were once brain washed into think Burmecia were a threat to Alexandria and they lost many comrades during the war. However others couldn't stand this type of racism and looked down on anyone who was associated with it.

"Now now Jena, they are our allies. Please do not speak of them in such an ill tone." said Winfield

Jena remained silent for the rest of the evening and the group continued to discuss recent events and forth coming plans of the Kingdom. After a few hours everybody went off to bed.

Ricko continued to reassure Kalfus there was nothing odd about this farm but Kalfus wasn't convinced, after the others fell asleep Kalfus lay they pondering his thoughts on what could be going on, he heard of the terrible factories in Dali which produced the evil Black mages, he was worried someone else was happening here. A few more hours had passed and Kalfus decided he could no longer hold back is curiosity, quietly climbing out of bed Kalfus left his armour and weapons behind and walked out of the room, down the stairs and crept out the door. In the village square he could hear soldier patrols walking around, sticking to the shadows Kalfus left the village and headed towards one of the barns. He noticed that each guard tower had a fire torch, thinking again about the big military presence, there were about twenty guard towers surrounding the farm and were manned day and night. Why would so many personal be needed to guard a farm? The barn door was locked; Kalfus walked around the barn and peeked through a hole, there were cows, chocobos and a sheep there. Maybe he was over reacting. Deciding to leave the matter rest Kalfus was about to head back but stopped dead when he heard female and a male voice coming towards the barn.

"Pestering Pluto knights, what business to they have here!" said the voice of Jena. "Their nitwit Captain should have warned them away!"

"Well, it is likely that the Pluto knights don't know of this facility, after all, the Queen herself doesn't even know." said an educated and superior voice.

"Well all the same, our work here would be easy if people didn't just stumble across us!" said Jena

"They don't know anything Jena, you over reacting. Foolish Pluto tradition, why I bet they don't even know why they exist. If it were up to me the Pluto knights would have disbanded along time ago." he explained.

"Well if a lot of things were up to the Council then Alexandria would be the dominate nation once again, not at the bottom!" spat Jena with a sound of disgust.

"Don't worry dear, things will once again be great for us, once those loyal to the Queen submit to our plans we will be able to force an ultimatum upon her." said the man.

"Ha, the day that wretched slut of a Queen is replaced will be the greatest day in Alexandrian history" said Jena

Kalfus resisted the temptation to attack and kill both of these traitors but he had left his weapons behind and decided that the best attack would be more thought through. Jena and the man entered the barn as Kaflus hastily headed back to the village.

**--------**

**Comments please :)**

I was going to go a total different route on this chapter but decided the idea of conspiracy would be more interesting, a lot of things have been left un explained but rest assured you will find out soon.


	4. Homeward Journey

Hey all! Sorry for the long delay, I've been stuck with coursework and revision but alas Chapter 3 is here. Please feel free to criticise /comment 

**Chapter 3 – Homeward Journey**

Lionel opened his eyes to be greeted by a full armoured Kalfus gazing out of the window. He climbed out of bed and walked over to his armour which was hanging up on the wall.

"Why are you awake so early." asked Lionel as he got dressed.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep." replied Kaflus

"How come?"

"Well, last night-" they were interrupted a by a short Demi-Human with blue skin, he was wearing a chef's hat.

"Hi. I am the Breakfestmeister. Food shall be ready in 10 minutes." the little guy bowed then left the room.

"So, what were you doing." asked Lionel

"Oh, never mind. Just couldn't sleep. You should wake the children and Ricko." he said as he left the room, hand fixed to the hilt of his sword. Kalfus walked from the landing and down into the hall. He didn't head for the dining room; instead he headed outside into the square. It was rather busy, unlike yesterday a number of farmers were around doing their day to day business. Noticed also noticed the high number of soldiers on duty, he began to think that a whole battalion could be stationed here but thought how ridiculous that would be. Leave the square Kalfus slowly walked around, trying to pick up some chatter from the farmers and soldiers. Nothing interesting was discuss, just recent news, farming issues and monsters beyond the walls. Kalfus drew to the conclusion that this conspiracy was small and this village was only the base of it.

"Sir Kalfus!" shouted Captain Winfield. "How are you today?"

Kalfus stared at her with hate; he wondered how involved she was with the conspiracy. "I'm fine thanks."

"Good good, breakfast should be ready at my manor. Also please inform Sir Ricko that a convey will be leaving at noon for Alexandria."

"Oh okay. Aren't you coming to breakfast with us?" said Kalfus

"Unfortunately I'm too busy at the moment. I may not see you before you leave, please give Ricko my apologies." she said as she walked off.

Kalfus knew that Winfield had a good reputation and doubted she would ever become a traitor but considering she was the leader of this institute and she seemed very much wrapped up. Kalfus walked back towards the manor and entered through the front door, he heard some shouting behind him. Turning around he noticed Jena, the main traitor bellowing orders to soldier. Kalfus turned back around and headed through to the dinning hall.

"Where you been?" asked Ricko

"Went for a walk around the village square. Bumped into Captain Winfield. She said there's a convoy leaving for Alexandria and we can hitch a ride." informed Kalfus

"Great, I didn't fancy the walk." said Lionel

"Will she be coming for breakfast?" asked Ricko

"No, she said she was busy."

Kalfus sat down with the rest of them and starting to eat through the vast quantities of bacon, sausages egg and toast. Kaflus remained silent while everyone stuffed themselves with as much delicious food as possible. After a few minutes everyone was full so to break the time until departure Winfield arranged a tour of the farming operation. Kalfus tagged along with them but was sceptical about all the different stories they were told. He didn't doubt the fact that this village was for farming, he just knew that wasn't its main purpose.

"This is one of our harvesting machines; it runs off a Steam engine. It patrols the fields harvesting crops, this makes it much easier than the old manual way..." droned the guide. "This is one of our barns, mostly for sheltering the Chocobos and storing the machines, there's nothing to interesting abo-"

"Can we have a look inside?" interrupted Kaflus.

"Umm, sure why not." said the guide, the door wasn't locked as he led them in. Kalfus wasn't sure if this was the one he checked last night. The barn floor was littered with hay and a few Chocobos were peacefully in there stables. There were wheel tracks leading out, presumably for the machines. Kalfus had a subtle look around trying to spot anything conspicuous.

"So as you can see, pretty dull. Shall we continue?" request the guide.

The rest of the tour was evening boring than before, just before noon the group arrive back at the village square to be greeted by their convoy. Five carriages, each being pulled by two yellow Chocobo's where prepared and ready to leave. Ricko walked ahead to speak to the convoy commander who informed him they would be leaving shortly. The children and Lionel climb into the second carriage while Kaflus, Ricko and two soldiers occupied the third. The others were laden with crops and other produce, after a short time the convoy slowly made its way out of the village, it went down the long road and through the main gates.

Memories of the night previous plagued Kalfus' thoughts, he had been meaning to tell his comrades all day but couldn't get them alone and now there were two Alexandria soldiers to eaves drop. Kalfus thought about the magnitude of this threat, what did they actually plan to do. Assassinate the Queen, overthrow her, start a rebellion. Kalfus also thought who else could have been involved, if a respected one Captain was in the loop then how many more could be, even the Queens closest servants may be a threat. The thought trouble Kalfus all the way back, after a few hours they finally start there climb up onto the Alexandria fields. Ricko was in constant conversation with the soldiers discussing how great he perceive Winfield and often tried to include Kalfus in the conversation but he merely shrugged of the attention. After a while Kaflus began to suspect Ricko, he was close friends with Winfield and had thought alongside her when Queen Brahne ruled. Kalfus trusted Ricko with his life, he trusted all the Knights with his life. The thought of treason among them swiftly left his mind.

As top became nearer the sun also became warmer, Kalfus climbed out of the carriage and up to the driver.

"How long do you expect it will take us?" he asked

"Oh, not long now. Look, there's the castle walls." informed the driver.

Kaflus focused his view into the distance, the city itself could barely be seen but the castle and giant sword glimmered in the sun light. Kalfus continued to stare down the road ahead, the land wasn't plain. Random rock formations, outlines of forests, paths and the odd animal populated the plateau. Kalfus immediately noticed smoke issuing a few hundred yards ahead.

"What's that!?" he pointed at the smoke.

"I don't know, possibly someone camping." replied the driver.

"…or someone in distress. Can we go any faster?" he asked.

"No Sir, the wagons are too heavy." she replied.

"Okay… Would I be able to take a Chocobo, actually we would need free…" he implied.

"No sir, we would be able to pull the wagons." she said.

"Damn! Okay, just drive as fast as you can and let me know when we are close." ordered Kalfus as he climbed back into the cabin. "Ricko, we may have a problem."

"What…?" he asked.

"There's some smoke ahead, possibly someone in distress." said Kalfus.

"Smoke… You sure it's just not a camp fire." said an unenthusiastic Ricko. He knew Kalfus would also jump down to the worst conclusion even though he meant well.

Kalfus looked on into the horizon and noticed the minuscule town wall of Alexandria. However, the castle and the sword monument were clearly visible and reflected the sun light for miles. Kaflus looked on further down the road, either side of the muddy path were random placements of rock and rough terrain. Small cliffs like hills were situated along the terrain, each only a ten-fifth teen feet high. Kalfus noticed some smoke rising behind the closest mound of rock; he climbed further onto the carriage to get a better look.

"Stop!" shouted the first carriages driver. The carriage stopped with a jolt. "Quick, Captain." she shouted again. From behind, the Captain ran passed Kalfus' carriage towards the driver; Kalfus jumped down and followed her up to the scene. Behind the rock was a destroyed carriage with number of dead humans and demi-humans. They appeared to be animal hunters.

"What happened here?" asked Kalfus

"It looks like they were attacked, maybe by some beasts." said the driver

"No," said the Captain. "These are sword wounds, they were attacked by humans."

"But who?" asked the driver.

"Most probably bandits, it's quite common for the them to attack people on the plains but they don't usually kill anybody." said Kaflus

"Unless of course the victims put up a fight." said the Captain.

"Well, they aren't holding any weapons. They were all stored away in the wagon." said Kalfus. He walked passed the scene, further behind the rock.

"Captain, what shall we do." asked the panic stricken driver.

"Wait a second, let me think." she said

"Can you go and get Ricko and Lionel from their carriages. Ask them to come over." asked Kaflus, the driver nodded walked off.

"Captain, I think the bandits may still be around. We need to be cautious." said Kaflus

"Really? Do you think they will attack?" she replied

Kalfus unsheathed his sword, walking around the scene he checked the bodies, there we four in total. Two humans, one hippo-human and one demi-human.

"That depends on how many bandits there are. This group was small and weren't prepared. We too are small but with are now prepared and have trained fighters." informed Kalfus

"What about these bodies? We need to get them back to there families. But these carriages are all full of food, we can't risk any type of contamination." said the Captain

"Your right, also we need to capture or kill these bandits. I don't like the idea of them running around free and able to commit such atrocities." implied Kalfus

"Okay, well we need to make sure this convoy arrives safely to Alexandria first and the children." said the Captain

"Of course, okay will ride on with you then come back with some reinforcements." said Kalfus

Ricko and Lionel finally appeared, Kalfus explained the situation and the plan to them both. The carriage continued its journey back but this time every available soldier was on alert outside the carriage.

"Where do you reckon the held up?" asked Lionel

"No idea." replied Kalfus, Ricko shook his head.

"Damn bandits, what's the point in it. I mean, life can be that hard if you have to murder to gain." said a frustrated Lionel

"They don't do it because they have too, they do it because they want too." said Ricko

The journey back was quiet, the bandits didn't attack so everything was fine. On entry to the city Kalfus and Lionel stayed at the gate while Ricko escorted the children back. After a small discussion with the city guard a small platoon of soldiers arrived, the were accompanied by two other Pluto Knights: Zeruff and Janus. After the men greeted each other they left the city towards the scene. With them was an empty wagon for the victims.

Arriving at the scene they noticed nothing had changed, some of the soldiers started to load the bodies and their remaining possessions into the wagon while the others watched out for any sign of trouble. Kalfus walked deeper into the plains, the small rock mounds stretched for miles. Kalfus slowly navigated through between the rocks, a small number of stones fell from above. Kalfus froze, stepping back he looked  
up to see nothing there.

"Aaaaah", from behind a bandit charged at Kalfus with his sword raised, Kalfus turned in time to block his attacked. The bandit work ragged dark clothes and worn a black bandana with yellow insignia.

"Disarm yourself now and I will spare your life." ordered Kaflus.

"Ha-ha- spare my life? Your nothing but a boy!" shouted the Bandit as he charged again, Kaflus deflected his attack, knocked the bandit aside.

"My age doesn't affect my ability to fight, old man." he replied. "I suggest you surrender so we can settle this in a civilised way." said Kaflus

"What!? I spend the rest of my life in the dungeons? If would prefer to die, or better still I would prefer you to die!" he said as he attacked again, after three deflects the bandit back off.

"Quite the swordsman, but can you fight more than one." the bandit smiled.

"Wha-" three more bandits appeared from between the rocks. "So be it!" smirked Kaflus. The three new bandits attacked while the elder stayed back, Kalfus deflect to attacks from the first and slashed his sword down through his torso. The bandit fell to he ground. The second charged, Kalfus dodged him and thrust his sword through the bandits back. Pulling the sword out the bandit fell down to the ground. The third stood a few feet away, he hesitated his attack.

"Do you really want to do this?" asked Kaflus

"Attack him! KILL HIM!!" demanded the elder bandit.

The third bandit still hesitated, he was really young, Kalfus could see the fear on his face.

"I SAID KILL HIM!" the younger one finally approached, he swung his sword at Kalfus who simply deflected the attack.

"Don't do this!" said Kalfus. He attacked again, Kalfus deflected the attacked and knocked the boy aside, Kalfus swung again knocking the sword out of his hands and followed through with a punch to the face that knocked the boy out.

"AAHH" shouted the bandit as he charged; Kalfus deflected every attack with a stroke of arrogance and ease. The bandit continued to attack and slowly became tired while Kalfus remained at full strength. The bandit's anger increased and his attacks became strong; Kalfus still defended but didn't attack. He gathered this man was the leader and it would be best to keep him alive. Kalfus finally took the opportunity and knocked the sword from his hands, he raised the tip of the blade to his throat.

"Do you really want to die?" said Kalfus.

The bandit didn't reply straight away, he was trying to catch his breath. "No..." he replied.

"Fine, turn around and place your hands above your head." said Kaflus, he kicked the back of his legs and the bandit dropped to his knees. Kalfus sheathed his sword and took off the belt. He tied the bandit's hands together with the belt and then called for the others.

"Oh my, couldn't you have left some for us!" joked Zeruff.

"Are there anymore?" Lionel asked the prisoner.

"No, not here anyways..." he replied

"What you mean, not here?" questioned Lionel

"Ha-ha- I mean not here, not right now." he replied

"So, your troupe is bigger?" said Kalfus

"Yeah, but I isn't telling you nothing!" he spat

"Come on," said Lionel as he dragged the bandit away.

Kalfus walked towards the unconscious boy, Zeruff handed him some rope and he tied his hands. Both Kaflus and Zeruff carried the boy back to the wagon. They came back for the bodies and weapons and then left for the city.


End file.
